If you're moving as fast as Amazon is, then you would understand that today's online retail is emerging to become a staple business within e-commerce. Online retail is expected to reach $500 billion by 2018, and Amazon is leading way, capturing 33% of sales online a year ago. One of the e-retail giant's core value-added services is its' ability to optimally perform two-day delivery, as well as Same-Day Delivery. This has given Amazon a tremendous advantage over other retailers, yet a new report shows that they are beginning to fight back and speed up their delivery times.

Internet Retailer recently reported how several top e-retailers in the US have begun to deliver their online items. It's new “Click, Ship & Return: Fulfillment Report” showed that retailers were making delivery time improvements within the last three years. The study was based on 30 retailers, tracking KPI's such as shipping speed, order processing times and returns. The report found that the average delivery time was four days.

The four-day time frames is a big difference from what it use to be. Based on a Slice Intelligence tracking of 238 online retailers, in January 2014 the average delivery time was 8.3 days. By April 2016, that average has decreased to 5.1 days. Therefore, there was a vast improvement within a two-year span. Consumers have become more comfortable with shopping online, coupled with the convenience of technology, the demand for faster delivery has increased. The retailer that can provide the same product, yet have the ability to get it into the hands of shoppers reliably faster, will be the one that gains a loyal customer.

In comparison with Amazon, the e-retail holds an impressive average between one and two days to deliver. This is no surprise with the level of distribution and fulfillment center operation that Amazon has. Now, it even has the reach to provide two-hour delivery via Prime Now in major US cities. Earlier this year, Amazon's expanded its' free Same-Day Delivery program to a total 27 cities, including San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Diego, Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Washington DC, Chicago, Richmond, Atlanta, Orlando, and more. Soon Amazon will be nationwide.

Other retailers are beginning to adopt Amazon's strategy. E-commerce analytic company, Slice Intelligence, performed a study and found one way retailers are successfully delivering quicker is by building more distribution centers to fulfill online orders, and these facilities are storing merchandise close to many heavily populated areas. This is resulting in faster turnaround delivery times. They are also utilizing their brick-and-mortar stores to pick up and delivery online orders. A company like Wal-Mart for example, has thousands of locations nationwide, which would enable it to easily fulfill online orders.

Instead of perform the deliveries themselves, many retailers partner with a Same-Day Courier like A-1 Express to develop an optimal same-day delivery solution throughout the US. The Phoenix Courier has a national footprint and the expertise to exceed any company's expectations. We understand courier same-day delivery, offering route deliveries, long-distance services, return delivery services, one-hour services, and more. A-1 Express can help get retailers' delivery time decreased, resulting in being able to truly compete with Amazon.

Reference: 9.9.16, www.internetretailer.com, Kat Fay, Top e-retailers deliver the goods faster